Pakistan’s former captain and legendary fast bowler Wasim Akram has clearly indicated that no comparison can be drawn between the World Cup winning skipper Imran Khan and retiring Misbah ul Haq.
“Imran Khan is my mentor. There is no compassion between Imran Khan and Misbah,” said Wasim Akram while talking at Geo News morning show.
A debate was kicked off by Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Shahryar Khan last week after he termed Misbah ul Haq as a better captain than Imran Khan. The opinion created a huge divide and with a majority of the people disagreeing with him.
Shaharyar made the statement appearing before the National Assembly Standing Committee on Inter-Provincial Coordination on Thursday. The chief, however, quickly clarified that he made the comparison simply on the basis of cricket and statistics.
It seemed he was too awed by Misbah’s contributions to Pakistan cricket, which is fair to a great extent.
“I said this on the basis of cricket. I have no political affiliation. I respect him as a player. I am not in politics. This is on the basis of statistics,” Geo.tv quoted Shaharyar, as saying.
Misbah is currently preparing to play his final Test at Roseau on May 10. The current skipper announced his retirement before the start of the ongoing series against West Indies, calling off his career which featured 77 Tests, 162 ODIs and 39 T20Is.
The 42-year-old, who retired from ODIs and T20Is after the 2015 World Cup, is credited for the role of the saviour he played after the 2010 spot-fixing scandal. He led and transformed a team surrounded by embarrassment into the World No.1 side in the Test format. His accomplishments as a batsman are also highly distinguished.
Imran Khan, on the other hand, is credited as the most flamboyant skipper Pakistan cricket ever had and led his side to the World Cup win in 1992 before retiring. The fast bowling all-rounder also had a huge hand in developing the next generation of legendary Pakistani cricketers such as Inzamam-ul-Haq, Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis among others.
He currently is one of the most respected politicians in Pakistan also.
Wasim Akram also spoke about his growing family. He revealed that his Australian wife and his two sons are still learning about Pakistani culture. He also revealed that that unlike him, his oldest son is not involved in cricket but is learning rugby in the United States.
“I do support my son, I tell my children nothing could be achieved without hard work.”